Thomas Tuchel admits he faced Mason Mount 's blazing glare after leaving the playmaker on the bench for Chelsea 's crucial encounter at Manchester City.
Mount, 23, had to settle for a brief cameo in the closing stages as the West Londoners fell to a 1-0 defeat against the Premier League leaders on Saturday afternoon.
The England international was in brilliant form prior to his surprise omission with seven goals and five assists in the top flight this season.
Ahead of kick-off at the Etihad, Tuchel said he wanted "more runners" in his attacking midfield as he explained his decision to start Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech.
Former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard previously claimed Mount gave him 'burning eyes' whenever he left him out of the line-up.
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"I remember every time I didn't play Mason – and people will say it wasn't that much – but his eyes were burning you in the meeting room the minute I didn’t pick him and that’s a 20-year-old kid," Lampard told the Daily Telegraph.
"I liked that because it reminded me of myself."
Tuchel can relate to his predecessor as the Blues academy graduate was less than impressed to be left on the bench for 81 minutes against Pep Guardiola's side at the weekend.
Asked whether he was on the receiving end of Mount's burning eyes, the German responded: "Yeah, I got them and this is absolutely normal.
"But it’s still within Mason’s character of kindness and being polite and being respectful, so there is no harm in this."
Tuchel was speaking ahead of Chelsea's trip to Brighton on Tuesday evening and was eager to stress just how highly he rates Mount, who appears likely to return to the starting XI at the Amex.
"I get the eyes, I get the look," he added. "I know the look, of course. He (Mount) is here to play these kinds of matches, but we were simply opting for runners.
"We thought we could break the line more often with Hakim as a left foot on the left side and going for Christian as a right side because of the arrival of Christian in the box.
"Normally, he is a bit more offensive, a bit more of a runner than Mason and we expected the spaces more behind the last line and not in front of the back four from City. So that was the decision.
"I felt Mason not in the 100 per cent zone where he is like untouchable, which he normally almost is. So we took that decision and it can happen from time to time.
"He’s not happy about it, but it will not last long because everyone loves Mason - me included."
